Real time data can be transmitted in transport blocks between edge nodes in a cellular communication system. In real time sessions, such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, video streaming, video conferencing, and the like, it is important to maintain continuity. In this regard, dropped or delayed packets can result in interruptions that negatively impact the user experience.
Real time data frames are encapsulated in packets corresponding to transport block (TB) size. The TB size can be defined based at least in part on resources assigned by a serving base station in a cellular network. For example, an evolved Node B (eNB) in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network can assign a number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) (e.g., 1, 2, 3, or 4) and a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) level, which can, together, define a specific TB size that can be used for real time data exchange over a radio link between a wireless communication device and the eNB.
Various transport block sizes can be supported depending on the number of PRBs used for communication with a wireless communication device. For example using 2 PRBs, the eNB scheduler can package between 32 bits and 1480 bits in a single transport block. The eNB can decide to select a specific TB size depending on available user data and a radio link condition of the radio link with the wireless communication device. Transport block sizes have limited granularity. As such, when an edge node, such as a base station or wireless communication device is packaging a real time data packet in a transport block, there may be unused space in the transport block.